She notes:

1. God is one.

As Swami Chidananda explicates, there is "only one God, only one Universal Spirit, one supreme Cosmic Being." Call God by "any name you know — Brahman, Tao, Ahura Mazda, Yahveh, Father in Heaven, Allah, Ek Omkar or Bhagwan, but all the same." God is one only, and in God, "we are all one" (Swami Chidananda. Divine Grace).

2. Atman is Brahman. (Loosely: the truth of your own existence/soul, is the Ultimate Reality; ground of being of all; God; Life; Cosmic Consciousness; Self.)

We are, and always will be, intimately and eternally attached to God; the creator of All. Our own inner, often unrealized or unknown yet authentic or true nature is itself Divine: immortal, pure potential. Eternal life is all that is; death per se, does not exist. Our eternal nature is one with everything... including the smallest of sensations we feel in our bodies. At the same time, our eternality outlasts our bodies. That is, the form of the body changes, yet while the form changes, the truth of our existence does not. An example: the body can be likened to water that evaporates with the heat of the sun and then falls as it cools, and freezes as it cools further, only to regain a more fluid form as it experiences warmer temperatures. Just as the essence of water is present throughout all of this, we are present, also, throughout all that we experience.

We are pure consciousness, pure potential, beauty, intelligence, peace, power, ahimsa, and bliss. We are intimately connected to everything, always. We can experience this place/space/truth at present, by elevating or expanding our conscious awareness, via the science of meditation, steadfast and devoted prayer, the art of love, self-inquiry, etc. With effort, we can live the experience — we can deeply know — authentic freedom, deep bliss, cosmic love, deep power, eternal humbleness, deathlessness and birthlessness. With effort, we can see how our innermost Self is never negatively or positively affected throughout life, and yet, we can also see how all of our actions affect our experiences to create our realities, in a grand manner. 

Nothing slips between Being and Becoming — to borrow a phrase from Sartre, and, building on the same: you are pure cosmic consciousness and all possibility. Every aspect of yourself is deeply connected with all of life...and only life is. Your are the embodiment of pure loving potential, living in a magnificent, loving, and eternally humble cosmos that is not at all different from you. 

Seeking depth and knowledge, infinite possibilities lay unmasked, laying waste to a previous incomplete, poor, and superficial assessment of life and living. Through an inner expansion and its corresponding evolution of consciousness, the world appears differently. One world ends and another begins, then, with the opening of another — a third — eye.

3. Matter, as most of us presently understand it, is a cosmic delusion.

Yogananda notes, also, that material consciousness possesses us through a law of delusion. He further states that we are not apt to banish this delusion, "except by learning the opposite law, that of truth."

"Spirit, through a series of processes of materialization, became matter; hence matter proceeds from and cannot be different from its cause, Spirit. Matter is a partial expression of Spirit, the Infinite appearing as finite, the Unlimited as limited. But since matter is only Spirit in a delusive manifestation, matter per se is nonexistent." 

The difference is not one of kind, but instead of vibratory rate... (Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda. 1981. Scientific Healing Affirmations).

4. We are all very deeply connected.

This point could be subsumed under another above, but, again: we are deeply connected to everything.

« When someone picks a leaf on a tree, the tree is affected as are many others, things, creations.

« Your own self is not finite, fixed, and isolated; your body itself is not.

A poet once wrote, "You cannot pluck a little flower without the shaking of a star." All of life is connected. 

There is "one common consciousness" which "links the life of all beings into one great cosmic unity" (Sri Swami Chidananda. 2006. Life is One). We are an intimate part of this — great Being; Cosmic Being, Cosmic Body, Cosmic Entity, Cosmic Consciousness...

5. Learning is helpful. Humility can help learning. Reflection can help learning. 

This point relates to creating one's life from the unaware ego, as compared with creating from one's sacred truth or sacred space. By delusion, forgetfulness, leela (game) or all of these, we do not see ourselves as we are. Instead, we see ourselves as limited or finite, as  deeply separated from God, as vastly different and separate from Omnipresent, Omnipotent, All-Powerful Consciousness...

Therefore, while we should speak and do as best we know, we should yet be open to changing practices once we know better. Try to discover when this is. Reflect. Be open to new knowledge, new insights, or new interpretations. Try not to have too many preconceived concepts. Try to learn about other people, things, places, or cultures, from an insider's perspective to the same. Better yet: try to learn from the cultivation of a meditative mind, and therefore — apart from being better informed in so doing — be better able to give and receive deep love from a place of deep understanding.

To paraphrase Sriram Sharma Acharya,

Without undertaking a treatise on the desirable or good and converse, what I churn from this, is that openness to possibilities, becoming aware of one's biases and how these effect one's thinking and actions, and questioning what may be or has become for us 'common knowledge or common sense,' and a general questioning and self-reflective spirit, can be important. Be open to learning, sharing, and growing with others; actively seek to work with others, yet be reflective.

Such a frame of mind can be especially important for someone unfamiliar with self-inquiry, or meditation. ...And why? Well very simply: the understanding of self itself that is (still) fairly prevalent, is incomplete and inaccurate. It is very different in important ways than the grand self or Self that is explicated and unmasked by some through meditation, deep self-inquiry or self-reflection. In one case the ego regards itself as finite; the other learns its infinite nature. One is unaware, while the other is highly aware. Actions, creations, efforts, or results flowing from each are apt to be different; both are apt to yield different outcomes or rates of success, and methods for attaining goals themselves are apt to differ.

Difference in itself, is not problematic or undesirable. Difference, as I observe regularly, can be most beautiful. Diversity in action, thought, in ways of being, in nature itself, etc., is something to be revered. To choose difference, especially via deep reflection, can be wisdom. Difference itself, simply is. Yet, in considering the unaware person as compared with the more aware person, the choices undertaken by the unaware person do have more of a tendency to be less fulfilling for that same person. Given a deeply inaccurate understanding of ourselves and how we fare in the world in relation to others, God or infinite knowledge, infinite power, infinite creativity, coupled with our nature as creative entities, and adding further to this: motivation or drive...well, then we have a potential problem, of sorts.

We are creative beings. Yet, when the unaware ego creates (i.e. chooses to act or fail to act, etc.), it can do so while imagining distance or separation from others. A deeper fear of separation, failure, change, loss, and death are simply more prevalent in one's experience. These features of themselves can (and sometimes do) serve as motivating factors. ...Yet interestingly: with knowledge of Self, fear of death disappears. (And needlessly to say, those with knowledge of Self still create or act.)

It is unfortunate that at times, the very deeply unaware ego or deeply unconscious person seeks to wield 'power over' others —   which I would argue is often fear driven, again perhaps also coupled with a lack of due reflection — but, not necessarily does this stem from malicious intent. Simply, how we understand ourselves affects all of our actions, to some degree. When our awareness is based on truth or true knowledge, we can expect to be better satisfied — and perhaps be in a place to better satisfy others, also — through whatever action or avenues we choose to undertake in life.

Undertaking action after due reflection, and ideally with knowledge of the Self — that is, undertaking action while deeply knowing or valuing one's connection with all others, etc. — is more apt, also, I would surmise, to have everyone in mind in a deeper capacity. If you experience such deep, loving, sacred unity with your neighbor, such that you feel you are essentially non-different from you neighbor — that it is as if you neighbor is your own arm itself; that it is as if your neighbor is present in every facet of your own being itself — how would you treat your neighbor, all other things being equal? With such regard, I would imagine, various actions — while performed in even the most minute capacity — could yet be so magnificent; so grand. ...And lo! Oftentimes following completion of the same, would we imagine that we have actually done a thing, at all? ...No. Or, not in separation, anyway.

6. Heaven exists, and its gate is not far.

I believe that heaven exists as joy, bliss, peace and love in the experience of perfect unity with everything that is; with Source. Heaven: the experience of pure consciousness that knows its true nature and exists in perfect harmony with itself: with All. Love, freedom, bliss, pure potential, eternal humbleness, immortality: unending. This is an elevated conscious awareness and potentially lived experience; a space of infinite power, and infinite strength. I believe that in death or re-creation we enter this space, and also, that through devoted self study, spiritual or religious inquiry, via japa sadhana, kriyayoga meditation, or through mastery of the art/science of love, we might also enter this space. In this space — in this place of breathtaking beauty — we see and know our own deathlessness; we see life, and light; we are highly aware and experience a realization of our very own great power. Heaven can manifest daily then, via devoted practice...for example, of kriyayoga.

7. Cultivating peace within, remembering our innermost nature via meditation, and cherishing our eternal connection with all, improves... Everything. 

Sometimes we feel alone. Sometimes we experience stress, confusion, and pain. Sometimes we forget our unity. Try not to stand to long in this space. Keep close to faith and love. If you do not meditate, actively choose to let go of all stress, confusion and pain, and then wait for or anticipate a turn for the better; wait for the miracle. If you're familiar with practicing presence, this can aid you also. You might also reflect on your body and appreciate it; perhaps take some time to deeply nurture yourself. Better yet: simply consider taking up Kriyayoga Meditation. If you do meditate, simply seek to uncover, recover, or remember your nature. If you're following a Master meditative technique, you probably won't need this reminder. :)

8. Meditate, self-reflect to Self-Realize, cultivate prayers of thanksgiving, practice japa sadhana, or practice kriyayoga meditation... Daily.

This point is again quite similar to the one above. Taking the time to consciously remember our potential, and sacred connection to all, beginning from the cultivation of a sacred awareness deep within — regardless of how busy we are — makes all of life run a little smoother. These actions can help greatly with our work, study, play, joy, peace, clear understanding, stress reduction, everything... Both the reasoning and sense faculties are apt to be better charged with wisdom. Regardless of how far along we are spiritually, religiously, or whatnot else, these actions never seem to lose efficacy, and yet they aid further growth — enlightenment in all spheres of life — as well as peace, and they further develop our ability to create or re-create our world, well. At a minimum, properly cultivated, these should lead to a greater ability to act, as compared with a tendency to react...and this can be important.

Show appreciation, show love, forgive, be at ease growing and learning...together. Help without egoistic or predominantly selfish or self-serving interests. Play together. Be selfless yet love Self. In fact: worship yourself as Self, but accordingly and necessarily: let go of the egoistic self — i.e. the egotism of separation, isolation, fear, and distance, etc. Love deeply through the awareness cultivated by an expansion of consciousness. Love without fear, expectation, or egotism, as much as possible. Release judgments, enjoy existence, ask for and accept help, and deeply care for yourself. Aim to be intimately at peace within yourself, regardless of circumstance. Aim for wisdom regardless of setting or happenstance. Seek first, perhaps, to feel as whole as possible within yourself and then work outwards from there. ...A tall order? Mmm, but perhaps not so, at all.

  More: learn about Ms. Sukhu's path to Self further, through the last article, here.